Advent, like Lent, is a time to prepare. And for things as auspicious as the birth and the death of the Son of God, these penitential purple Christian Seasons gives us time to consider our sin and repent. (We shouldn’t need a special time, but sometimes we need reminding…). For some reason, we get 7 Sundays in Lent, but only 4 in Advent.
There is a tradition that allocates particular passages of scripture to set the tone for Sunday worship, and the Introits for the 4th Sunday of Lent and the 3rd Sunday of Advent both begin with the words ‘Rejoice’. Perhaps it’s a reminder that the point of penitence is a restored relationship with God. I’m not sure we’re prone to excessive dourness in these seasons anymore, but austerity can be eased by an occasional treat.
Someone said “don’t fret over the past, instead think about the good things life has given”. Repenting and receiving forgiveness removes the reason to fret, and the King of Love’s ‘goodness faileth never’.
This Sunday is named from Philippians 4:4 (in Latin): gaudete in Domino semper iterum dico gaudete. “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, Rejoice”.
Raymond